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Make your CHARACTER your MASTERPIECE! All men and women are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life; in a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a master piece. – Saint Pope John Paul II Read more of Michael Josephson‘s favorite quotes on character here: http://whatwillmatter.com/character-greatest-quotes-character-reputation-character-education-compiled-michael-josephson/

Spend less energy trying to convince others you are right and more of just doing what is right. – Michael Josephson Subscribe to a weekly newsletter featuring articles and quotes of Michael Josephson atwww.whatwillmatter.com

WHEN IT CONCERNS CHARACTER: YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE SICK TO GET BETTER. Everyone is ethical in their own eyes. Beware of self delusion when assessing your own character or the ethics of your organization. It’s a dangerous form of hubris to be certain that “I would never do that” or “It can’t happen here.” It’s easier to make a …

CHARACTER EDUCATION IS INDISPENSABLE TO EFFECTIVE ACADEMIC EDUCATION. By Michael Josephson​ There is mounting evidence that core character traits producing emotional intelligence and “grit” are better indicators of school and life success than pure academic achievement, including grades and standardized test scores. It’s obvious that knowledge itself is not enough. The information and cognitive skills taught by schools need to …

Ethics is bigger than compliance. Compliance is doing what you are required to do; ethics is about doing what you should do. An act is not ethical simply because it’s legal, nor is it proper simply because it’s permissible. In an ethical culture, people are expected to do more than ask what they have a right to do; they are …

Michael Josephson’s NBC4 Interview: “What 2017 Says About America’s Character” As 2017 came to a close, Michael Josephson sat down with NBC4’s Conan Nolan to discuss what the year 2017 demonstrated about the country’s character. Both segments of Michael’s interview (which was a part of the NBC4’s NewsConference segment) are worth watching — especially as we think about how character …

Our character is both formed and revealed by how we deal with everyday challenges as well as extraordinary pressures and temptations, like a well made tower, character is built stone by stone, decision by decision. – Michael Josephson

People of character do the right thing even if no one is looking. People of character do the right thing even if it costs more than they want to pay. People of character do the right thing even if no one else does, not because they think it will change the world, but because they refused to be changed by …

Watch your thoughts; they lead to attitudes. Watch your attitudes; they lead to words. Watch your words; they lead to actions. Watch your actions; they lead to habits. Watch your habits; they lead to character. Watch your character; it determines your destiny.

Make your character your masterpiece. All men and women are entrusted with the task of creating their own life: in a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece. – Pope John Paul II

When I talk to parents and teachers about the role of schools in teaching character someone usually points out that character development is and should be the primary concern of parents. Who can argue with that? Many of the attitudes and habits that make up character are learned at home. But they’re learned elsewhere as well — on the school …

There’s a parable about a new mother who discovered a butterfly struggling mightily to escape its cocoon through a tiny opening at the top. She became concerned when the creature seemed to give up after making no progress. Certain that the butterfly just wouldn’t make it out without help, she enlarged the hole slightly. On its next try, the butterfly …

If you were hiring a new CEO, what are the most important qualities you’d look for? Surely you’d want a high level of demonstrated competence – knowledge, experience, intelligence, vision, communication, and relationship skills and the ability to motivate, manage, and solve problems. But what about qualities such as honesty, moral courage, accountability, and fairness? Despite bold rhetoric about the …

Our choices reveal our character, but more importantly they shape our character. Thus, the more aware we become of the choices we make every single day — choices about our attitudes, words, actions and reactions — the more power we have over our own destiny.

“There is, within you, waiting to be called, a great source of power. It’s called courage. Call on it and it will give you strength to overcome fear and uncertainty and the heart to continue with bold confidence, despite the pain of past tragedy or risk of future failure.” – Michael Josephson

The serious damage done to our economy, social institutions, and personal relationships by widespread cheating and dishonesty is bad enough. But widespread acceptance of such behavior as inevitable threatens to make our future a lot worse. In effect, our culture is being infected by a disease: the disease of low expectations.

While I was on a radio call-in show talking about cheating, a listener I’ll call Stan mocked my concern. He cheated to get into college, he said. He cheated in college to get a job. And now he occasionally cheats on his job to get ahead. In fact, he concluded, cheating is such an important life skill that parents ought …

People of character do the right thing even if no one is looking. People of character do the right thing even if it costs more than they want to pay. People of character do the right thing even if no one else does, not because they think it will change the world, but because they refuse to be changed by …

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The mission of the Josephson Institute is, “To improve the ethical quality of society by changing personal and organizational decision making and behavior.” In this space Michael Josephson and the Center for Policing Ethics faculty will provide expert insights and resources to promote professional development and leadership effectiveness of executives and managers and create an ethical business culture which enhances morale, growth, and profitability while reducing risks of costly and reputation damaging lawsuits and scandals.